Train-operated railway gate



A. ZLI KQFQ TRAIN OPERATED RAILWAY GATE Filed April 13, 1925 3 sheets fihee'h 1 INVENTOR June 29 1926. 1,590,612 A. ZUKOR I TRAIN OPERATED RAILWAY GATE Filed April 15, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 TTOR/VE Patented June 29, 1926.

ABNOLD ZUKOR, OF NEW YORK, Y.

TRAIN-OPERATED RAILWAY GATE.

Application filed April 13, 1925.

The present invention relates to improvements in train-operated railway gates, that is to say to crossing gates which are closed by the approach of a train toward the a crossing and opened by the train as it passes.

beyond the crossing. The invention pertams more particularly to railway gates which are adapted to be employed in con-- nection with the automatic railway signal and stop system described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,505,459, i granted to me on August '19, 1924. In this patent a railroad signal is described which jincludes a plurality of boxes disposed along a track, each box having slidably arranged thereina stop which extends above the upper surface of the same. A -shoe is slidably disposed above each box. There are means provided for connecting each shoe with the stop in the box in rear of it, whereby, upon lowering a shoe, the stop connected therewith is raised. Within each box there is a means disposed for causing the shoe thereon to be raised when the stop in the same box is raised.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a crossing gate which is actuated by an electric motor, the latter being disposed in electric circuits which are controlled by switches operated by the shoes of the railroad signal above referred to, means being provided for reversing the di rection of rotation of said motor, the said reversingmeans being set in operation by the railway gate.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the mechanism that it can be con: veniently installed on already existing tracks provided with the railroad signal above referred to, more particularly without necessitatin material changes in the construction o the said signals or in the construction of the track itself.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railway gate of the character mentioned wherein an electric signal is actuated cautioning those arriving at the gate when the latter is about to be set to closing osition.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying Serial No. 22,817.

drawings,'it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several parts and details of construction within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificinganyof the advantages of the invention. One of the many possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a' diagrammatic view of the invention employed on a single-track road;

Fig, 2 is aside elevation, partly in section,

of the gate'and its operating mechanism; Fig; 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2, on a larger scale; Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2, also on a larger scale; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of a locomotive with an element thereon for actuating the electric signaling system and the circuit closing means of the motor of the gate closing device; and Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive, are diagrams of the electric circuits, the movable elements of the latter being shown'in the figures in different positions. 1 Referring now tothe drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a railroad track, on which the trains run in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Agate post 11 is mounted adjacent the track at a crossing, and to this pqst is pivoted at 12 a railway gate 13, comprising a plurality of links 14, which are joined to form a lazytong construction. The gate 0st. 11 is disposed on one side of the roa at the crossing, and in alignment therewith is disposed the other side of the rod a post' 15, the gate beingadapted to extend from 0st to 0st, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of t e drawings. The outermost links of the lazy-tong construction are pivoted to a vertically extending bar 16, to the lower end of which is fixed a horizontally extending toothed rack 17 the said rack being slidably disposed in a guide 18, which is located in the ground. The teeth of this rack mesh with those of a pinion 19, which is mounted on the shaft of an electric motor 20. In the path of the toothed rackare disposed two levers 21 and 22, pivoted at 23 and 24, respectively, to some support below the guide 18. These levers are connected by a bar 25, carrying four switch blades, denoted by the numerals 26, 27, 28 and 29. These blades are electrically insulated from one another. With these switch blades are associated stationary con tact points, as will hereinafter appear.

The railroad track is divided for signaling purposes into sections or blocks, the divi-.

S1011 being accomplished by placing at predetermined intervals along the track signaling devices, denoted in Fig. 1 of: the drawings by the numerals I, II and III. The signaling devices I and II are disposed a suitable distance in front of the railway gate, and the signaling device III a suitable distance beyond the same. These devices are all alike in construction and are described in detail in U. S. Letters .Patent No. 1,505,- 459, granted to me on August 19, 1924. Each of the same comprises a box with which are associated two cylinders 30 and 31, which do not communicate one with the other. These cylinders are sunk into the ground adjacent the track. The cylinder 30 of each set is connected by a pipe 32 with the cylinder 31 associated with the next box in the rear. With each cylinder 31 is associated a stop 33, comprising a vertical bar projecting above the cylinder and mounted upon a piston rod 34, the latter extending into the cylinder and carrying within the same a piston 35, reciprocably mounted therein. In each cylinder 30 is also reciprocably mounted a piston, denoted by the numeral 36, the rod 37 of which extendsabove the box and carries at its free end a shoe 38. On the piston rods: 37 and 34 are mounted arms 39 and 40, respectively, which extend toward" each other, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, their .free ends overlapping. The cylinders and the pipes 32 are filled with a suitable liquid. The

locomotive, indicated by the numeral 41 in.

Fig. 5 of the drawings, carries a roller 41, adapted to co-operate wlth the shoes 38. 'hen a train arrlves at a signal box and the track is clear ahead of it, the parts of the signal box are in the positions 1, shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, in which the shoe 38 is in its raised operative position and the stop 33 in its lowered inoperative position. As the locomotive runs past the signal box I, its roller 41' depresses the shoe 38. As this shoe moves downwards, the piston 36 in the cylinder 30 forces the liquid from this cylinder into the pipe 32 communicating therewith, the liquid being forced into the cylinder 31 in the signal box in the rear, moving the piston therein upwards, thus raising the stop in said box to its operative position. The arm of this stop acts on the arm 39 of the shoe associated with the same box and thereby also raises the said shoe. From this it appears that, whenever a locomotive depresses the shoe 38 of a signalin box, the stop of the box in rear of the series is raised. By raising this stop, the shoe of the same box is also it the shoe 38, so that the circuit of the elecraised. At the same time, however, the stop in the rear of the last-named box is restored to its normal inoperative position, due to -'the partial vacuum created below its piston.

The shoes 38 of the three signal boxes shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings are made of metal and with each of the same co-operate two stationary contact points 42, 42" and 42 which are adapted to be bridged over by the said shoes, the said contact points being inserted in electriccircuits, as will hereinafter appear.

Adjacent the railway gate is mounted on one side of the track a post 43, carrying an electric sign 44. This sign comprises a casing 45 having translucent sides 46, on each of which is inscribed a legend 47, to give warning to those approaching the crossing when the gate is about to be closed. Within the casing is disposed an electric lamp 48, arranged in an electric circuit 49, the latter ineluding a source of electric energy and the two contact points 42 associated with the shoe 38 of the signal box I. On each of the sides 46 of the casing may also be disposed a bulls eye 51. When the locomotive of :1 train arrives at the signal box I and depresses the shoe 38 thereof, the latter bridges over the contact points 42, thereby closing the circuit 49 of the lamp 48, which thus illuminates the electric sign. This circuit is closed until the locomotive depresses the shoe 38 of the signal box II, when the stop 33 of the signal box I is raised and carries with ion tric lamp48 is opened.

Below the bar 25 is mounted a panel 52, and on the latter are disposed contacts with which co-operate the switch blades 26, 27, 28 and 29. The blades 27 and 28 co-operate each with a set of three contact points, denoted by the numerals 53 and 54. The contact points of the set 53 are indicated by the reference characters (I, 7) and c, and the contact points of the set denoted by the numera 54 are indicated by the reference char actors cl, e and f. The contact points a, 0, d and f are connected by conductors with the brushes of the motor 20, while the contact points I) and e are connected with the terminals of the field 55 of the motor, (see Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive, of the drawings). lVith the switch blade 26 co-operate contact points 56 and 57, and with the switch blade 29 contact points 58 and 59. All of these are mounted on thevpanel 52. The contact point 56 is connected by a conductor 60 with one of the terminals of the field of the motor, and the contact oint 57 is connected by a conductor 61 with one of the terminals of the battery 50. Similarly is connected the contact point 58 with the other terminal of the field 55 by a conductor 62, and the contact point 59 is connected by a conductor 63 with the other terminal of the battery '50. 180

ed between the contact points 58 and 59,

ea ers The contact points 56 and 57 are also connected by conductors 64 and 65, respectively, with the contact points 42, which are associated with the shoe of the signal box II The contact points 58 and 59, on the other hand, are connected by conductors 66 and 67, respectively, with the contact points 42 associated with the shoe 38 of the signal box III.

The operation of this device is as follows: When the gate is in its folded, that is to say in its open position, and a train has passed the signal box I, the movable elements of the several switches of the device are in the positions indicated in the diagram shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. From this diagram it appears that the shoe 38 of the signal box I is in its depressed condition, so that the electric sign 44 is illuminated. The shoe 38 of the signal box 11 is in its raised position and the switch blade 26 in its open position, so that the electric circuit of the motor is interrupted. As soon as the roller 41 rides over the shoe 38 of the signal box II and depresses said shoe, the contact points 42, 42 are bridged over, whereby the motor circuit is closed. This motor, in its rotation, actuates the toothed rack 17, causing the lazy-tong mechanism to be extended so that the elements are brought into the positions shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. As this toothed rack moves, it shifts the levers 21 and 22 into the positions shown in Fig. 2'

of the drawings, whereby the contact points 56 and 57 are bridged over and a cap croat (Fig. 7). At the same time the switch blades 27 and 28 are shifted soas to bridge over the contact points a and b, and the contact points 65 and e respectively, they having been previously in the positions indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. By so shifting the blades 27 and 28, the direction of the current flowing through the armature of the motor is reversed. It is to be noted, however, that inasmuch as the circuit has been interrupted between the contact points 58 and 59, the motor circuit has been interrupted, so that the gate will be held in its extended position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When new the locomotive arrives at the signal box III, the shoe 38 of the latter is depressed so that the contact points 42", 42" are brid (1 over, with the result that the motor circuit is closed, the motor rotating in a direction 0 posit-e to that in which it extended the fol mg gate. The gate is thus folded. As it arrives at its folded osition the rack 17 comes in contact with t e lever 21, shifting the bar 25 whereby the polarity of the motor is again reversed and the contact points 58 and 59 are bridged over by the blade 29, and a gap is made between the contact points 56 and 57, (Fig. 8). The device is thus ready for the next train. It is to be noted that when the shoe 38 of the signal box 111 is depressed, the shoe 38 of the signal box 11 is raised, making a gap between the contact points 4-2, 42'. The shoe 38 of the signal box III will be raised when the shoe of the next signal box in the series is depressed.

What I claim is:-

1. In a train-operated railway gate, the combination with a 0st, of a gate mounted thereon consisting o a plurality of jointed links forming a lazy-tong construction, an

electric motor for extending and folding said lazy-tong construction, a track switch in the circuit of said motor in front of said gate, a track switch in the circuit of said motor beyond said gate, a motor reversing switch,

a circuit interrupter, said motor reversing switch and said interrupter being actuated by said gate, and means interconnecting said two-track switches for restoring the track switch in front of said gate to open position, by the act of'closing of the track switch beyond said gate, and means for restoring the track switch beyondsaid gate to open position after the train has traveled a predetermined distance beyond said last-mentioned track switch.

2. In a train-operated railway gate, the combination with a ost, of a gate mounted thereon consisting o a plurality of jointed links forming a lazy-tong construction, a toothed rack connected to the outermost links of said lazy-tong construction, an electric motor for actuating said toothed rack, a track switch in the circuit of said motor in front of said gate, a track switch in the circuit of said motor beyond saidgate, a motor reversing switch, a circuit interrupter, said motor reversing switch and said circuit interrupter being actuated by said toothed rack, means interconnectingsaid two track switches for restoring the track switch in front of said gate to open position by the act of closing of the track switch beyond said ate, and means for restoring the track switc beyond said gate to open position after the train has traveled a predetermined distance beyond said last-mentioned track switch. 1

S' mad at New York, in the county of New ork, and State of New York, this 7th day of April, A. 1)., 1925.

' ARNOLD ZUKOR. 

